I'm not dead

I'm trying to get back on track, get back to blogging about, not only food, but other beautiful and fun things too. Lately things have been hectic and I haven't been getting posts up, but I have still been doing plenty. I don't have pictures for everything, but I have a few definate recipe recommendations.

1. Eggplant Focaccia(via the Curvy Carrot). This recipe was delicious and simple. The only thing I did differently from the recipe was using swiss instead of Emmentaler and rolling it round, rather than square. AMAZING. If you don't follow the curvy carrot, I suggest you do so immedinately.

2. Cheesy Spinach Soup(aka Witches' Brew, via Annie's Eats). Again, all I did differently was change the cheese to Cheddar(since that is what I had on hand). This soup was very tasty, and I felt so healthy eating it(since it really is mostly spinach anyway). I could not get it smooth enough using my immersion blender, so I used the regular blender, and it turned out great.



I've also been knitting a bunch recently, and even attempting to crochet a bit(though the project was very simple). I crocheted this simple single chain scarf, and I love it. The picture really doesn't do it justice, and I will try to take a better one later on(it is 80 here today, so not really scarf weather).

I also knitted a simple baby hat and mittens for my soon to be niece or nephew. I went with gray, hoping it could work for a boy or girl.

I'm still a very inexperienced knitter, so I try to do simple projects. Next I'm hoping to do a ridiculously adorable blanket I saw on raverly(I'll share the name once I get all my supplies).

So, I am not dead, and will hopefully be back to posting on a regular basis very soon. I should have lots of pretty things to share from the baby shower I am planning, which is coming up in just 4 short weeks.

Black Bean Soup

Confession: I ate 3 Klondike bars on Sunday. Confession 2: I may have eaten 2 on Monday also. We are now out of Klondike bars.

After eating all of my delicious ice cream, the weather has cooled down and it has started to feel like fall. I love fall, so this is a welcome feeling to me. To welcome in the new fall weather, I decided to make soup, delicious, hearty, black bean soup. It was a quick meal, and went perfect with my leftover bread(in the form of a grilled cheese), and a nice pumpkin beer. I suggest making this immediately if you too are hoping to welcome in the fall weather.

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups Black beans*
2 cups veggie broth
1 tablespoon oil
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt**

1: In a large stock pot, heat oil. Add onion, garlic, pepper, and spices to heated oil and cook about 5 minutes, until pepper and onion are softened.
2: Add beans and broth, mix well, and simmer for about 10 minutes, uncovered.
3: Stir and cover. Simmer about 10-15 more minutes, until beans are soft.
4: Using and immersion blender, or a regular blender, blend soup to preferred consistency. Serve, topped with cheese, sour cream, or other garnish.

*I cook dried beans, rather than using cans, but 2 1/2 cups would be about 1 1/2 cans, in general.
**If using canned beans, salt can be ommitted, since the canned beans will contain salt.